Wire-fence stretcher



April 1 J. GUTHRIE WIRE FENCE STRETCHER Filed March 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet Inventor Jo fiwfiua gwfirfa By Attorney April 23, 1929. .1. GUTHRIE WIRE FENCE STRETCHER 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed March I927 Patented Apr. 23, 1929.

UN 1 EDI STATE s JOSEEHUS GUTHRIE, or nncnoflnnno.

.wrnnrnnon s'rnn'ronnn.

Application filed March'Q, 1927. Serial No. 172,057.

The present invention relatesto improve,

ments. in wire stretchers .and has reference more particularly to a dev ce tor-stretching woven wire fences and for holdlng the same taut in order to permit the fence to. be prop erly stapled to the fence posts. a

One-0f the importantobjects of the pres ent invention is to provide a woven wire fence structure of the above mentioned character which will, at all times, be positive and eliicient as to its operation, means being provided whereby the fence w re engaging hooks may be adjustablyr connected to the shaft forming the Windlass, so that woven wire fcncesofvarious widths may be acconnnd, dated. 7 w v A still furtherobject is to provide a woven wire fence stretcher ofthe above mentioned character which is simple inconstruction,

strong and durable and further well adapted for the purpose for which it is designed,

Other objects and advantages of the, inven tion will become apparentfrom the course of the. following detailed description. i

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and in which like i reference characters designate like parts throughout the Views Figure .1 is a side elevation of the fence.

stretcher.embodying my invention, showing the parts in position for stretch ngthe woven wire fence. i

Figurefl is a similar View, taken at right angles to Figure 1.

face of the corner post A, and for the purpose of securing the bar or standard in a rigid position against the post, I provide the post engaging hooks 2 at the upper and lower end portions of the bar, the same being hingedly connected to the rear edge of the standard as at 3. The manner in which the pivoted hooks 2 engage the corner post A, is

more clearly illustratedin Figure 3 of the drawings. r I

Extending longitudinally along the opposite edge of the standard or bar 1 and supported in suitable bearings or brackets 1 is the elongated roller 5. A purpose of this roller will ,be hereinafter more fully de-. scribed.

Extendinglaterally from the outer side face of the bar or standard. 1 are the upper and lower horizontal'arms 6 and 7 respectively. A tubular shaft 8 extends vertically,

through the outer ends of these arms 6 and 7 and is adapted for rotatlon 1n the openlngs provided therefor in the arms. The tubular shaft 8 is of relatively-great length and is adapted to provide a windlass, for the pur pose to be presently described.

The shaft 8 is rotated through the medium of a suitable handle 9, which extends through a collar 10 and through registering openings in the upper end of the shaft on which the collar is mounted. The handle is ofsuch construction PATEN oFF cE.

as to. permit the same to be connected to either endQ the shaft, it ofcourse being understood that each end of the shaft is of identical construction.

The tubular shaft 8 is provided with a series of vertically spaced registering openings, such as are shown at 11, adjacent each end thereof and the purpose of these openon, in the further description ofv the fence wire stretching means. A pair of ratchet wheels 12 are adapted for slidable movement along the intermediate portion of the tubular shaft 8, and each ratchet wheel is formed with the hub portion 13, through which extends radially the set screw 14 and the inner end of this set screw is adapted to engage the tubularshaft 8 for adjustably securing each of the ratchet wheels on the shaft.

The ratchet wheels are preferably located on the shaft adjacent the bottom and upper face of the upper and lower laterallyextending arms respectively, as is clearly illustrated in Figure 1. Cooperating with each ratchet wheel is a pivoted pawl 15 secured to the in.-' ner face of each arm,the innerend of each pawl being held normally in engagement with the teeth 16 of the respective ratchet wheel through the medium of the spring 17. The outer end of each pawl is bent to provide a handle 18, whereby the inner end of the pawl may be moved out of engagement with the pings will also he apparently obvious later i 'ilO I inorder to permit of a direct pull upon the j right angles to the corner post A. The ar- 7 rangement of the bracing means is clearly SllOWIl'lIl Figures 2 and 3. V

V The fence w1re stretching means comprises upper and lower cables 20 and 21 respectively.

A collar '22 is connected to-one end of each 4 of said cables and the same is disposed'over the rotatable shaft 8. Eachcable is trained over a pulley 23 supported in a hook carrying member 24, a hook 25 being swivelly associated withthe member. The other'end of each cable has a hook 26 connected thereto, and thesehooksare adapted for engagement in any one of the upper and lower series of openings 11 formed in the shaft 8. This construction provides a 'meansfwhereby the cables maybe properly placed with respect to each other, inorder to accommodate woven wire fences of different widths and further end of the wire'fence which is to be stretched.

, Thehooks 25 are adapted to engage the upper and lower strands C of the woven wire fence, inthe manner as clearly shown in Figure 1, and with the parts thus arranged,it is obvious that when the h'andle9 is turned in a one direction, the shaft 8 will berotated, thus causing the hooked end of each cable to be wound around the shaft, and thereby exert a forward pull on the woven wire fence to effeet the stretching thereof across the corner post A and when the woven wire fence has been stretched to the proper degree, the same will be maintained in such stretched position by the pawl andratchet mechanism hereto-' fore described, and the fence wire may be then stapled to the post A.

It will thus be seen from the foregoing description that I have provided a simple and eflicient wire stretcher which can be readily and easily set up in position for use, and such a device will save considerable time and labor'in stretching woven wire fences.

While I have shown the preferredembodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes in the shape, sizeand arrangement of parts may be made, without departing from. the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claim.

hat I claim is:

In a wire fence stretcher, the combination of a vertical bar, post engaging hooks hingedly secured to the upper and lower endrportions of the bar for securing the same against the post, a pair of arms extending laterally fromthe respective ends of the bar andbeing rigidly secured thereto, avertical shaft journaled for rotation in the outer ends of the arms, upperand lower fence wire engaging hooks, carriers therefor, a pulley arranged in each carrier, a cable trained over each pulley, a'collar attached to one end of each cable and being slidable on said shaft, said shaft being provided with a series of spaced openings whereby hooks carried by the other ends of the cables may be adjustably connected to the shaft, the hooked ends of the cables being adapted. to be wound around the shaft when the same is rotated to effect the stretching oft-he wire fence, ratchet wheels secured on theshaft adjacent the outer ends of the respective arms, pivoted pawls carried by said arms for cooperation with ratchet wheels to prevent reverse rotation of the shaft, and bracing means for the outer ends of said laterally extending arms.

In testimony whereof I afiix m signature. JOSEPHUS G THRIE. 

